Leadership Team

David Wescoe
Executive Director

David Wescoe became TMRS’ Executive Director in July 2020. Prior to moving to Austin, he held senior positions with private and public sector organizations and has an extensive background in law, finance and investment management. His public pension career began in 2006 when he became the CEO of the San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System. He also has served as the chief executive of the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans in Studio City, California and, most recently, as CEO of the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association.

David is a frequent speaker on financial and pension topics and has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and Governing magazine. Among his many civic and charitable activities, David has served as the Board Chair of the University of Kansas Alumni Association and as a Trustee of Trinity School in New York City.

A native Kansan, David holds a BA from the University of Kansas and a JD from Columbia Law School.

Michael Apperley
Chief Financial Officer

Mike Apperly was named Chief Financial Officer at TMRS in January of 2023. In this role, Mike is responsible for all TMRS administrative functions: Internal Audit, Finance, Human Resources, Facilities and Records. He previously served as Director of Internal Audit at TMRS.

Prior to joining TMRS, Mike held executive positions at the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Texas State Auditor’s Office. At the Comptroller’s Office, Michael was the Assistant Director of Fiscal Management. The Fiscal Management Division helps state agencies and institutions of higher education manage their appropriations, financial reporting, purchase and travel expenditures, payrolls and personnel. At the State Auditor’s Office (SAO), Mike performed and led financial, performance, and compliance audits, and oversaw the SAO’s business functions.

A native Austinite, Mike graduated cum laude with a BBA with Honors in Accounting from Texas State University. He is certified as a CPA and was an inaugural member of the Texas Fiscal Officer Academy.

Jac Greene
Chief Information Officer

Jac Greene joined TMRS as Chief Information Officer in November 2022. As CIO, Jac is responsible for all TMRS information services, including software development, infrastructure, IS customer service and cybersecurity.

Jac began his career at Electronic Data Systems and has served in progressively more responsible IT management roles in architecture, infrastructure, software development, customer service, and cybersecurity at Austin-based manufacturing and financial services firms. Prior to joining TMRS, he served as the CIO of a national membership-based healthcare association.

Jac holds a BA from The University of Texas at Austin. He is certified in ITIL Service Management and is involved in local IT leadership communities. Jac was the President of the Austin chapter of the Helpdesk Institute and is a member of ISACA.

David Hunter
Chief Investment Officer

David Hunter joined TMRS as Chief Investment Officer in January 2022. David previously served as Chief Investment Officer and Executive Director of the North Dakota Retirement & Investment Office. In that position, he was responsible for 27 separate investment portfolios for 18 different client boards, including seven pension funds, a sovereign wealth fund and 18 insurance-related investment pools. During his tenure, assets under management grew from $8 billion in 2013 to more than $20 billion.

During his more than 30-year career in finance and investments, David has held positions with Leavell Investment Management, HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. as Vice President, Director of Pension Investments and Assistant Treasurer, Sumitomo Bank, and Citibank.

A native Chicagoan, David holds a BS from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is also certified as a CPA and Series 7, 63 and 65 National Securities Dealer and Uniform Investment Advisor.

Christine Mullen Sweeney
Chief Legal Officer

Christine Sweeney joined TMRS as General Counsel in August 2010 and serves as Chief Legal Officer to the System, overseeing all Legal functions.

Prior to joining TMRS, Christine was in private practice for almost 25 years with a large Austin-based law firm, specializing in ERISA and public pension plan matters, private investments, business transactions and real estate law.

Christine received her BBA with Honors in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame and her JD from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Christine is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys, the Texas Association of Public Pension Attorneys and the Institutional Limited Partners Association. She was the recipient of a 2018 First Chair Award in the category of Top General Counsel.

Debbie Muñoz
Chief Service Officer

Named TMRS’ Chief Service Officer September 2022, Debbie oversees the functions of Member and City Services, Plan Design and Funding, Benefit Administration and Communications.

Debbie joined TMRS in 1998 and began working as a Membership Development Representative, spending much of her time educating TMRS membership and city personnel about TMRS benefits statewide. During her more than 30-year career in the public pension arena, Debbie has led teams through several modernization projects including the expansion of online functionality and TMRS’ current pension administration system.

Debbie received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from the University of Texas and is a native Texan, born and raised in San Antonio.

Andi Focht-Williams
Director of Benefit Administration

Andi Focht-Williams became TMRS’ first Director of Benefit Administration in May 2022. She oversees the department responsible for accurate and timely service to TMRS members, retirees, and beneficiaries.

Andi joined TMRS in March 2017 as Senior Internal Auditor. In December 2020, she was promoted to Internal Audit Manager, responsible for providing independent audit reports to the Board of Trustees and TMRS management.

A native Nebraskan, Andi holds a BS from the University of Nebraska and an MS in Accounting from St. Edward’s University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Leslee Hardy
Director of Plan Design and Funding

Leslee Hardy was hired as TMRS’ first in-house actuary in December 2007 as a member of the Executive team. Prior to joining TMRS, she spent 28 years as a consulting actuary specializing in retirement plans of all types. As the Director of Plan Design & Funding, she coordinates all actuarial activities between the Board, staff, participating cities and the System’s consulting actuary, GRS. In addition, she oversees all activities associated with the plan design of each city.

She graduated Summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Actuarial Science/Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. Leslee is a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Anthony Mills
Director of City Services

Anthony Mills joined TMRS in November 2004 as a member of the Travel Team. In September 2020, he was named the first Director of City Services, where he oversees the division that serves TMRS participating cities. Among the division’s functions are outreach to city administrators, stakeholders and elected officials and the processing of city contributions. Prior to his role as Director, Anthony traveled the state extensively, educating Members and participating cities’ administrators about TMRS.

Before joining TMRS, Anthony worked for the Texas County and District Retirement System and the Employees Retirement System of Texas. Anthony was also a press aide to the late Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock.

Anthony holds a BA in History from the University of Texas at Austin.

Candace Nolte
Director of Finance

Candace Nolte was promoted to Director of Finance in October 2022. She directs the staff responsible for the accounting, budgeting and financial reporting of TMRS. Candace began her career with TMRS in 2002 as Controller and later was named Assistant Finance Director.

Before joining TMRS, Candace spent 10 years working for top global public accounting firms, focusing on the financial services sector.

She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Leslie Ritter
Director of Human Resources

Leslie Ritter was hired as TMRS’ Director of Human Resources in November 2016. Leslie oversees all of the System’s human resource functions, and she has implemented a number of new systems and spearheaded the organization’s employee engagement initiatives.

Prior to joining TMRS, Leslie served in executive level positions at Education Partners and Double Line Partners, both education technology firms in Austin, and as Senior Vice President over HR at Hill+Knowlton Strategies. She also worked for the Texas General Land Office for over a decade as Assistant Director of Human Resources and Staff Development Manager.

Leslie received her BBA from Texas State University and her MBA from St. Edward’s University. She is certified as a Professional in Human Resources by the Human Resources Certification Institute and holds a SHRM-CP from the Society of Human Resource Management.

Dan Wattles
Director of Governmental Relations

Dan Wattles was hired as Governmental Relations Director in November 2010 and coordinates TMRS’ interaction with the U.S. Congress, the Texas Legislature, the Governor’s Office, the State Pension Review Board and other retirement systems and stakeholder groups.

Before coming to TMRS, Dan worked for the Wisconsin, Arizona and California Legislatures. In Texas, Dan was the Legislative Coordinator for the State Auditor’s Office and the Governmental Relations Director at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. He has held positions at the Texas Department of Commerce.

Dan has a BS in Public Administration from the University of Arizona and an MPA from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Certified Public Manager and spent six years in the U.S. Navy.